Should the Sox bring AJ back?

[Fastball23]

I'd like to see him back on a one year deal.

[blandman]

Why would AJ want to do that?

[russ99]

Originally Posted by blandman

Why would AJ want to do that?

Very true. He's close to the end of his career so I'm sure he's looking for a bigger payday than the Sox can offer at this point, and also he'd prefer to play for a title contender.

With the lack of good hitting catchers out there, he'll probably get both.

I do think A.J. will be back with the Sox in some capacity after he retires.

[blandman]

Originally Posted by russ99

Very true. He's close to the end of his career so I'm sure he's looking for a bigger payday than the Sox can offer at this point, and also he'd prefer to play for a title contender.

With the lack of good hitting catchers out there, he'll probably get both.

I do think A.J. will be back with the Sox in some capacity after he retires.

We really missed the boat on him. He probably would have taken a one year deal with us last year (given he did the same with Texas). While that wouldn't have changed too much last season, things would have been a little more tolerable.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by blandman

Why would AJ want to do that?

Originally Posted by russ99

Very true. He's close to the end of his career so I'm sure he's looking for a bigger payday than the Sox can offer at this point, and also he'd prefer to play for a title contender.

With the lack of good hitting catchers out there, he'll probably get both.

I do think A.J. will be back with the Sox in some capacity after he retires.

I'm not sure why the Sox can't afford him, coming off a career best season in 2012 he was only able to get a 1-year, $7 million contract from the Rangers, this isn't exactly bank-busting stuff for a team like the Sox that cleared some $50 million in contracts off their books and have another $15 million coming off next off-season.

AJ, like probably every other player in the league, will take the deal that best compensates him. A lot of us expected him to cash in on his 2012 season and get that last big payday and call it a career last winter, but the market never materialized. MLB teams apparently aren't willing to offer big, long contracts to 36-year-old catchers. I don't know how the FA market will shape up this year, but it would be surprising to me if the big payday he didn't get last year materialized now, but then again, in baseball, it only takes one crazy owner to go and do something stupid.

[blandman]

Originally Posted by doublem23

I'm not sure why the Sox can't afford him, coming off a career best season in 2012 he was only able to get a 1-year, $7 million contract from the Rangers, this isn't exactly bank-busting stuff for a team like the Sox that cleared some $50 million in contracts off their books and have another $15 million coming off next off-season.

AJ, like probably every other player in the league, will take the deal that best compensates him. A lot of us expected him to cash in on his 2012 season and get that last big payday and call it a career last winter, but the market never materialized. MLB teams apparently aren't willing to offer big, long contracts to 36-year-old catchers. I don't know how the FA market will shape up this year, but it would be surprising to me if the big payday he didn't get last year materialized now, but then again, in baseball, it only takes one crazy owner to go and do something stupid.

Unless we're the crazy overpaying team, I can't see a 36 year old catcher with usable skills choosing to join a 63 win team. He'll still have lucrative one year offers to contenders, and that's the worst case scenario for him.

[Noneck]

He'll follow the scent of long green wherever it will send him.

[doublem23]

Originally Posted by blandman

Unless we're the crazy overpaying team, I can't see a 36 year old catcher with usable skills choosing to join a 63 win team. He'll still have lucrative one year offers to contenders, and that's the worst case scenario for him.

And this is what people were saying last year, that he'd have all these lucrative offers from other teams and he winds up with a good, but still relatively modest, 1-year $7 million deal. I think people really over emphasize how much joining a contender means to most of these guys, 99 times out of 100, they're going with the team that gives them the most cash.

[blandman]

Originally Posted by doublem23

And this is what people were saying last year, that he'd have all these lucrative offers from other teams and he winds up with a good, but still relatively modest, 1-year $7 million deal. I think people really over emphasize how much joining a contender means to most of these guys, 99 times out of 100, they're going with the team that gives them the most cash.

Texas isn't a contender? They had just been to back to back World Series... We don't really know that was the only offer out there for him. But the one year deal he signed was probably a mix of money and contention.

[PaleHoser]

We should have never let him leave to begin with. He was a productive LH bat in the middle of the order and should have been re-signed.

I was very irked when Rick Hahn was quoted a week after he signed with Texas that they needed another LH bat to balance the lineup.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think one reason he wasn't re-signed was that they needed to choose between him and Jake Peavy .

I don't think there's any question that from a pure baseball standpoint you make him an offer. I think the bigger question is whether Rick Hahn or anyone else in a decision-making role in the organization would be willing to eat humble pie, admit they were wrong to let him leave, and make him an offer.

[spawn]

Originally Posted by blandman

Texas isn't a contender? They had just been to back to back World Series... We don't really know that was the only offer out there for him. But the one year deal he signed was probably a mix of money and contention.

He didn't say Texas wasn't a contender. Maybe you should read his post again.

[TaylorStSox]

Originally Posted by PaleHoser

We should have never let him leave to begin with. He was a productive LH bat in the middle of the order and should have been re-signed.

I was very irked when Rick Hahn was quoted a week after he signed with Texas that they needed another LH bat to balance the lineup.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think one reason he wasn't re-signed was that they needed to choose between him and Jake Peavy .

I don't think there's any question that from a pure baseball standpoint you make him an offer. I think the bigger question is whether Rick Hahn or anyone else in a decision-making role in the organization would be willing to eat humble pie, admit they were wrong to let him leave, and make him an offer.

Addison Reed told you why they didn't bring him back.

[TaylorStSox]

Originally Posted by blandman

Texas isn't a contender? They had just been to back to back World Series... We don't really know that was the only offer out there for him. But the one year deal he signed was probably a mix of money and contention.

Me thinks you don't know what "contention" means.

[spawn]

Originally Posted by PaleHoser

We should have never let him leave to begin with. He was a productive LH bat in the middle of the order and should have been re-signed.

I was very irked when Rick Hahn was quoted a week after he signed with Texas that they needed another LH bat to balance the lineup.

This is pure speculation on my part, but I think one reason he wasn't re-signed was that they needed to choose between him and Jake Peavy .

I don't think there's any question that from a pure baseball standpoint you make him an offer. I think the bigger question is whether Rick Hahn or anyone else in a decision-making role in the organization would be willing to eat humble pie, admit they were wrong to let him leave, and make him an offer.

Meh...I don't disagree with the decision to letting him go to explore other options. They had to see what they would get from a full season of Flowers. That wouldn't be possible with AJ there. Unfortunately, what they got was garbage. And I disagree with the Sox having to choose Peavy over him. Peavy doesn't pitch every day.

[tstrike2000]

I highly doubt he'll come back here, but either way, hopefully Hahn is trying to do something. There just isn't a whole lot out there after McCann, who will get crazy money from somebody else.